Here’s more detail about my Heat Press Workshop in Sheffield in March. The images above are projects where the fabric has been printed using the heat press. These are a inspiration for whatever project you would like to choose for the workshop.

This is an opportunity to create your own design and transfer it onto satin, cotton or a fabric of your choice.

What you will need:
Bring some inspiration, images, drawings, stencils, colour samples that you like. Ideally these should be on paper, rather than on your phone or iPad.
If you have paint brushes that you particularly like to use please bring those with you. If you prefer to wear gloves or have sensitive skin please bring gloves.
The heat press requires ventilation so if it’s a chilly day please bring a jumper.
As we are working with dyes it is advisable to wear old clothes, and you may also wish to wear an apron.

If you wish to bring your own fabric to print on – your design should be a maximum size of 28 x 36cm. Manmade fibres work best but natural fabrics can be used and can be pre-treated at the workshop with a product.

The workshop includes:

Two A4 pieces of polyester satin

One A4 piece of cotton

One 25 cm length of bra elastic

Paper for your design

Use of transfer paints

Use of the heat press

Tea, coffee, cordial and biscuits

What you will learn:

You will learn about the products you need to create your own hand painted or hand-printed fabric
The fabrics that respond to this process and how to prepare them
How to use the heat press
Inspiration of what your designs could become

The workshop is undertaken at your own risk and by signing up to the workshop you are responsible for your own safety and wellbeing.

Colourful samples created using the workshop techniques

There are limited places available. Book now, to avoid disappointment, at this link

Hi, I’m running a half day Heat Press workshop in Sheffieldon 9th March. Posting the details incase this may be of interest.

‘Heat press Workshop’10-12.30 Saturday 9th March£30

This is an opportunity to create your own unique design and transfer it onto fabric. During the workshop you will be guided through steps to create a bespoke design and transfer it onto a fabric of your choice for use in whatever textile, sewing or craft project you wish. You will learn about products, techniques and equipment, how different fabrics respond to the process and how best to prepare them. You will be inspired by what your designs could become. This workshop is supported by ‘Colourcraft’.

During #inktober I created my first bell pepper allergy illustration. I then saved this on my phone to show when ordering food in restaurants.Watercolour painted peppers added to the original many language background

Now don’t get me wrong it’s not that I don’t like peppers. I find them deliciously tasty, but it took some years to pinpoint that being doubled over with severe stomach cramps, hot and cold sweats, three days when I couldn’t get out of bed, diahorrea until my system was empty, was due to eating bell peppers.

Bell Pepper Allergy and Intolerance Symptoms – Found through research.

Give me a chilli and I’m happy and fine, but a fragment of bell pepper or a pinch of paprika and I loose the next few hours at least. Until my body has painfully fought the peppers and kicked them back out of my system.

It was suggested to me by a GP that it may be IBS, which is why I believe some people could be thinking and dealing with what they believe is IBS when they might just need to drop peppers from their diet.

Heatpressing hand painted peppers

Machine rendering after hand sewing

Now peppers are very nutritious for some people, but they can be anaphylaxic for some. However they are almost never listed on food menus and food packaging as allergens. Often they’re not written on food menus, despite them being part of the dish. Due to their colourfulness peppers are often used in ‘food on the go’ meals such as salads. Really helpfully they’re often finely chopped and written in minuscule font on the ingredients list on packaging.

So I just want to make people, you even, more aware of the possible reactions and physical responses to peppers. Maybe this work can take away someone’s pain or discomfort.

So I’m asking people to think before they eat and serve bell peppers and paprika, I’m asking food retailers to think before they add bell peppers and paprika and to make it as an allergen, and for restaurants to always state where bell peppers and paprika have been used in their dishes. And please use a different chopping board for peppers.

Thank you for reading to the end. Next time you eat peppers just observe in the time afterwards how you feel. If you have any of the symptoms listed in this article you might want to see if the symptoms clear up or cease.

Eat happy, be happy, consider pushing aside the peppers.

Free Download – I’ve created an illustrated download for those with Bell Pepper allergies and intolerances. This is for use in restaurants, hotels at home and abroad. Please feel free to print and/or share this with someone that it may help, and to raise awareness of this food allergy. Card size set to 9 x 13cm.

Related work: Work that relates to the techniques is at the following links. I often find that the work is stepping stones to the next creation, like a bright creative path where the next step is revealed upon completion of the present one. These creative projects led to this work.

Celebrating 3 years: It’s now three years since I began focussing on art and making. After injuring my knee I decided to follow my heart and felt a need to let out the colour and creative potential that I instinctively knew was within me.

Switching to a less commercial line of work has not been easy and has taken courage and conviction, but as I continue to explore and my work evolves I’m keen to see what I’ll be creating next.

The highlights of the past three years have been two Art and Design year long course Distinctions, a solo art exhibition, and being commissioned by customers to create bespoke artworks and gifts.

Collage of my favourite 9 from the past 3 years…

Latest work: My latest creation is an embroidered work for a dear friend, inspired by an image. I felt real flow in this work and felt guided in creating it by some artistic wisdom that joined me while I hand and machine appliquéd and stitched.

Image of Pippin and image of the work.

The picture that the textile portrait is based on. The colourful textile portrait on repurposed cross stitch fabric that I have dyed created using appliqué including felt I have made with iridescent fabric that was formerly a curtain in my Sheffield studio, machine embroidery, free motion embroidery and hand stitching.

Workshop Development: Exciting news is that I’m developing a heat press workshop. This will given people the opportunities to develop a design and print it onto fabric in just 2 hours. Watch this space for news and dates. if you’re not signed up to receive Inspire news then you can do so by typing your email address into the box above.

My favourite pieces created in fabrics dyes using the Heat Press

Work in progress: Miniature plants need a miniature place to grow so I’ve been building a greenhouse in Fab lolly sticks with a Magnum stick for decoration. I’ve also tried a more rustic ones from twigs pruned from my Japanese Acer. Need to eat a fab lolly or two more to be able to complete the roof structure. I’m considering whether to plant miniature climbing plants with the rustic greenhouse to encourage them to grown up and within it.

Greenhouse picture 1 &2

Ceramics: I’m exploring ceramics, its not an area I’ve studied before so I’m learning hand building techniques. More on that when the pieces have been fired.

Sneak peek at two of my biscuit fired pieces

Commission Time: Christmas is coming and its traditionally a time for commissioned artworks for loved ones, providing a bespoke gift made for them. My deadline this year for commission requests, to be ready in time for Christmas is 31st October. Please email me and I’ll help determine all that’s needed to begin the creation of your unique artwork.

Thanks for the support in the past three years and here’s to the future. To creativity, and beyond!

October is #Inktober: I’m taking the #Inktober challenge again this year. My intention is to try to illustrate the prompt words simply and clearly. You can see my ink creations in my Instagram ‘stories’.

Everlasting passionflower lovingly crafted from textiles. The satin cheese plant I made led to my decision to make a textile passion flower….I studied the beautiful flowers that I have been growing in garden for 15 years.Some all-white varieties surprised me in the garden this year.Passionflower study in coloured pencilsMonochrome study aiming to simplify the forms.Watercolour study of passiflora.I then took the designs into stitch. This was the first iteration of the passion flower with a little fused Angelina fibre panel for the centre.Free motion embroidery and ribbon couching to create the second flower design.After considering different fabrics I decided to use satin with scrim behind for the third flower experiment.It was important that I create depth for the flower’s corona filaments, anthers and stigmas. I used felt, a bead and embroidery silks.My intention whilst working at Chelsea College of Arts at the start of the month was to create screen printed designs that I could later add 3D passionflowers to. A passionflower couldn’t exist without its leaves. I created this one using satin that I have designed and printed using Colourcraft products, with felt behind/underside made at Stitched Up and Fleeced in Sheffield.

The final addition was the tendrils shaped with a little love as inspiration. Photographed in the sun, which is what prompts the passionflowers to reveal their striking beauty.

Thanks so much for reading to the end. I’m delighted with this work and will be looking at the display of it. So watch this space by popping your email address in the box at the top of the page to follow my blog. Normally a maximum of one post per week, a little bright creativity into your inbox

And finally here are flowers I painted in pomegranate juice (and a little green watercolour). The juice was a stunning pink so I could resist making art with it. The work is inspired by a great book I’m reading The Joy of Watercolour by Emma Block.

Had a great week at UAL Chelsea College of Arts, working in the Textile Print and Dyeing Room. Here’s my favourite work – screen prints (including foil) and silkscreen painting.

This two colour screen print was created using cut paper.Experimenting with foil

Silkscreen print, from hand painted design. My earlier screen potent can be seen where they had marked the cloth.Design inspired by element of passion flowers, as part of ongoing study of this plant species. I love how this came out and like the tendrils.A productive few days work.My final and favourite piece was using cut paper and three colours.

I’ll be developing these pieces and creating with them so pop your email address in the box at the top of the page to see how they develop.

If you’re interested in this work here are other related textile work I’ve been busy with…

I had an idea to make a cheese plant, this was inspired by seeing the cheese plant when doing Yoga With Adriene. I didn’t want a cheese plant that would grow too big or might result in soil spilling onto the carpet, so decided that a mini one would be ideal.

My favourite fabric at present is satin, I love how the light catches it and used it recently for the Bird and Flowers Cushion. The cushion featured leaves and so I can recognise the idea flow through these projects.

The Bird and Flowers Cushion

Following this commission project I made a bookmark, a pretty lady emerged, and then an eye mask.